philooo

Ok so after my previous thread where I had a difficult start after a hard drive and stop during a very hot day.

This time, same symptom but on a cold start in my garage. This time I had the camera handy so I recorded what happened except the first start as I had no idea what would happen.

So about the first start, it is exact same thing as last time, the car starts but iddle around 500rpm, feeling like its gonna stall anytime, so I give it a very slight tap on the gas, like 5%, then instead of going up in rev, it stall the engine.

As I said I don't have a video of the first start, when it stalled after weak iddle but I have plenty of others

If you are short in time, jump to the seventh attempt, that video shows very well the problem

The video below is the second attempt to start the car (4.02PM):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7FeLFcwXmU

Third attempt (4.03PM), this time I am trying to stay a little longer on the starter, just in case, but no luck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pB-r8DnOPQ

Fourth attempt (4.06 PM) trying again, with no luck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiHq8fNz6U4

Fifth attempt (4.10 PM) and again with an even longer attempt on the started:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqhnPnb_soQ

Sixth attempt (4.17 PM) after a 6 minute wait, back at it again, this time it starts, and you can see the low idle. I stopped the video as I thought I was out of the ditch... but no.. as soon as I applied gas, it stalled again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhdpv75R2lw

>> Seventh attempt << THIS IS THE BEST VIDEO EXAMPLE,
- right at the beginning the car stall when I try to apply slight gas.
- Second start, it goes well, then it dies, this time I did not apply any gas or anything, it died on its own.
- third try die on its own
- fourth try same
- using the F*** word....
- fifth try ...it start ! this time I apply no gas, waited for like a minute, applied gas, no problem, then out the door and driving perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQtaIjRjHY


8/ After a 10 minutes drive, I stopped to pickup food for 5 minutes and back to the car, and the video below show the start on the parking lot...like nothing happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNEfa4Q1y8c


Any idea what cause the weak iddle ? When I had the problem starting the car, it smelled a bit like gasoline in the garage, really felt like the engine was drawn (not sure of the proper vocabulary). But I am a bit puzzled now...

RPMulli

Well you know there are three things you need to keep the engine running.... air, fuel, spark..

i would start with one and begin your own troubleshooting. it is hard to determine was it could be from that footage (for me at least)

RPMulli

my initial thoughts were that the fuel or ignition system could be the culprit, i just read your old post. i definitely don't think its the starter at all.

RPMulli

ALSO, did you ever suspect vapor lock?

Divot

I have no clue, but I never touch the gas on start up.

RPMulli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_lock

read this.

philooo

what is 'vapor lock' ?

RPMulli

as you described.. on super hot days when you stop and after hard driving. that is when the fuel lines could heat up and vaporize. just something to think about. i dont think it is very common in newer cars but its a possibility.

ivangene

you really need diagnostic tools - fuel is my guess, be it the pump, presure, filter, pick up, ground.... this is just not your year for car troubles

got the shake fixed and now this thing.

as stated it could be electronics, but for no other reason than its easier to check (for me) I would start on the fuel side of the problem till proven OK

good luck man,

philooo

how come once it is started it works like a charm after that ?

Not only I have trouble, they are all intermittent !!! the most pain in the a** to diagnose !!!

At least the car did not leave me stranded but I assume it is a matter of time... And I just hate towing !

Shark Attack

Ignition switch

Ahsai

It sounds almost like the engine runs out of fuel all in a sudden. Have you checked the fuel pump relay? Also, does it occur only when the gas tank is about half full like in your cilps?

Jake Ok

Crank sensor is bad.

philooo

Shark Attack - 'ignition switch' ? can you elaborate on this ? I heard a lot about switches going bad, but never heard what are the symptoms.

Ahsai - I only had the problem twice and first time it happened, I remember that I just had fully filled the tank before it happened. I even wondered at the time if the gas I had put in was not the source of the problem, as I saw they had messages on the pump that some were empty, and I am always wondering about station running out of fuel and bad quality tanks.

JakeOk - what is the crank sensor ? did you experience similar problem yourself ?

By the way in Lubbock, maximum octane you can find is 91, and most station only offer 89 at most. could it be a problem ?

Ahsai

I don't think the fuel quality is the problem since the engine does fire up and idle for a brief period of time. I like the ignition switch theory too since when the switch goes, it cuold create all sorts of weird behavior from what I read on this board and other boards. However, your dash still has power when the engine shuts down so I would think your ECM still gets power but who knows...